Stress Management
CDR Mark Mittauer
Enabling Objectives
 Identify
causes of stress
 Discuss the harmful effects of stress
 Discuss how to eliminate avoidable
sources of stress
 Discuss how to adjust to unavoidable
sources of stress
Enabling Objectives (cont.)
 Discuss
techniques for improving
assertiveness
 Discuss techniques for better anger
management
 Describe and practice three stress
management exercises
Causes of Stress
 What
are sources of stress in your life?
 Stress may result from daily hassles
 Stress may result from major life
events
 Stress may result from welcome life
events (e.g., promotion, marriage)
 CHANGE is a major source of stress
Harmful Effects of Stress
 Illness
- infections, cancer progression,
high blood pressure, obesity from
overeating, heart disease, ulcers
 Fatigue - that may lead to mistakes and
injury or death
Useful Stress
 Stress
can be helpful when it motivates
us to accomplish a task now!
Symptoms of Stress
 Physical
 Emotional
 Cognitive
 Behavioral
Physical Symptoms of Stress
 muscle
tension
 headache
 fatigue
 sleep problems
 gastrointestinal problems
 high blood pressure
Emotional Symptoms of Stress
 irritability
 arguing
 anxiety
 depression
 lack
of enjoyment
 mood swings
 suicidal thoughts
 homicidal thoughts
Cognitive Symptoms of Stress
 inattention
 distractibility
 forgetfulness
 confusion
 poor
concentration
Behavioral Symptoms of Stress
 social
isolation
 work problems
 conflicts with coworkers, friends, and loved
ones
 unhealthy habits - overeating, alcohol
misuse, nicotine use, caffeine misuse,
workaholism
 aviator: conflicts with peers, disregarding
rules and checklists
Better Stress Coping
 Eliminate
avoidable causes of stress
 Handle unavoidable causes of stress
more effectively
Avoidable Causes of Stress
 Nicotine
 Alcohol
 Overeating
 Caffeine
 Sleep
problems
Nicotine
 Chewing
tobacco (“dip”) can cause
mouth or lip cancer
 Exhaled “secondhand” smoke can
cause lung cancer, heart disease, and
respiratory infections in nonsmoking
bystanders
 Smokers miss twice as much work as
nonsmokers due to illness
Nicotine (cont.)
 The
medical effects of nicotine use should
be well known
 Children exposed to smoke develop colds,
ear infections, asthma, bronchitis, and
pneumonia
 To stop smoking - talk to a medical
department representative about smoking
cessation classes and nicotine replacement
products
Alcohol
 Medical
problems from alcoholism depression, liver disease, ulcers, high blood
pressure
 Almost one half of sailors who suicide are
drunk
 A blood alcohol level of .15 increases your
chance of a car wreck 24 times
 NATOPS 3710.7Q: no alcohol within 12
hours of flight planning; no hangover!
Alcohol (cont.)
 Drinking
only two drinks at bedtime
causes less restful sleep - leading to
fatigue the next day
 If you drink too much - talk to your
command DAPA or medical
department representative, or visit
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA)
Overeating
 Medical
problems from overeating - obesity,
high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease,
stroke, high lipid levels
 Strict dieting or fasting does not result in
sustained weight loss - your metabolism
slows and you regain weight when you
resume “normal” eating
 Overeaters’ Anonymous may help
Overeating (cont.)
Commercial weight reduction programs and diets
are costly and no more effective
 Eat three meals a day - to avoid evening binges
 Select a high fiber, low fat diet
 Cut calories by using sugar substitutes, sugar-free
sodas, fat-free salad dressing, and skim milk;
avoid gravy, deserts
 Healthy snacks - carrots, celery, pickles, lettuce,
fruit

Caffeine
 Caffeine
increases your alertness for several
hours - but then causes increased fatigue
 Health problems from caffeine use - high
blood pressure, anxiety, irritability,
withdrawal headaches, sleep problems
 Insomnia may result from any caffeine use
after noon
 Mountain Dew, chocolate, and tea have
caffeine
Caffeine (cont.)
 Decrease
your caffeine intake to two or
less cups of coffee (or the equivalent)
per day
 Decrease your caffeine use by
eliminating one cup of coffee from
your daily intake every few days
Sleep Problems
 80%
of Americans do not get enough sleep
 Poor sleep causes fatigue, irritability,
depression, work inefficiency, and accidents
 Optimal sleep - 8 to 8.5 hours per night
(need minimum of 5 hours to avoid
performance difficulties - especially for
sedentary persons making complex
decisions or needing to be attentive)
More Sleep Facts:
 Causes
of fatigue:
1) sleep debt
2) circadian rhythm disruption
3) prolonged effort (mental, physical)
 Myths about sleep:
1) cannot “bank” sleep
2) wakeful rest does not replace sleep
Even More Sleep Facts:
 Symptoms
of sleep deprivation:
1) hallucinations (REM intrudes into day)
2) excessive yawning
3) impaired concentration and memory
4) head bobbing (due to “microsleep”)
 Remedy for sleep deprivation:
1) caffeine
2) naps for 60 minutes max (if longer, allow
20 minutes to reach alert state)
How to Improve Sleep
 avoid
heavy exercise and alcohol before bed
 avoid caffeine use after noon
 go to bed and awaken at the same time
 if unable to fall in 30 minutes, arise and
read until you feel sleepy
 avoid naps longer than 30 - 60 minutes
 relax for 30 to 60 minutes before bedtime
 relaxation techniques may induce sleep
 do not check your alarm clock during night
How to Approach Unavoidable
Stress
 Try
specific stress management
techniques discussed later
 Change your outlook on how you view
stress
Specific Stress Management
Techniques
 Talk
to someone (friend, chaplain, mentor,
Family Service Center counselor, flight
surgeon)
 Create a support network of friends
 Schedule fun activities - noncompetitive
hobby, reading, music, sightseeing
 Schedule down time when you have no
other activities planned
 Introduce spirituality into your life
Specific Techniques (cont.)
 Volunteer
to help someone - your life will
feel meaningful
 Aerobic Exercise (biking, running, walking,
swimming, aerobics) at least 30 minutes
three times a week - improves mood and
mental alertness and relieves tension
 Unclutter your brain - keep an appointment
book; write down tasks and prioritize them
 Allow extra time (arise 10 minutes earlier)
Improve Time Management
 review
your calendar and list of tasks daily
 prioritize your tasks
 tackle difficult or irksome tasks first
 have an agenda for meetings - develop time
limits for each agenda item
 avoid taking office work home
 work efficiently - you do not have to
complete all tasks perfectly
 make a “plan of attack” and set milestones
Reduce Job Stress
 Remember
that your job is important (hull
technician example)
 Be cheerful - the world will not end if you
are grim and serious all the time!
 Praise your coworkers often - with formal
and informal awards
 Take “fun breaks” at work - talk to someone
or review pictures of momentos of fun times
Reduce Job Stress (cont.)
 Divide
the work day into “time chunks”
 Plan a fun activity after work
 Delegate work to others
 If you fall behind, request help and inform
your supervisor
 Set limits on what you are asked to do
 Establish realistic goals
 If you feel overwhelmed, do something!
Change Your Outlook on Stress
 When
you feel stressed - take a break,
breathe slowly, walk around
 View life as a challenge or opportunity to
excel - and not as a crisis
 When something goes wrong - think of
three ways the situation could be worse
 Live life “one day at a time” - do not dwell
on past mistakes, worry about the future, or
wait (miserably) for future happiness
Change Your Outlook (cont.)
 Learn
to enjoy the simple pleasures of life
 Do not wait for others to make you happy
(maintain an internal locus of control)
 You cannot control how you feel - but you
can control what you do with those feelings
and how long you keep them (example:
when you are angry, do something fun after
30 minutes)
 Find the positive part of every situation
Change Your Outlook (cont.)
 Stop
wasting time worrying - develop a plan
to approach the problem and do something
 Be prepared to wait - carry book to read, a
portable cassette player, or hobby materials
 Be wary of “the grass is always greener”
syndrome before you leave your current
situation
 Always have a back-up plan
 Decide now what is really important
Faulty Thinking Causes Stress
Catastrophizing - anticipating a terrible outcome;
overexagerating the importance of a situation
 “I can’t stand it” - deciding that you cannot
handle a situation, without trying
- alternative: “I can handle this!”
 “Should” statements
e.g. “I should always be happy”
- alternative: “I’m human. I am allowed to
make a mistake or have a bad day.”

Faulty Thinking (cont.)
 “Beating
yourself up” about past mistakes
that you cannot change
 Worrying about situations over which you
have no control, or cannot change
e.g., “If only I had 20/20 vision”
 Overgeneralizing - viewing one negative
event as predicting a never-ending pattern
of defeat
e.g., “My girlfriend dumped me. I will
Faulty Thinking (cont.)
reasoning - thinking, “I feel it,
so it must be true.”
e.g., “I am anxious today, so something
terrible will happen!”
 Personalizing - blaming yourself for
something that is not your fault
 Fairness fallacy - becoming angry when
something disappoints you because you
think, “life is supposed to be fair!”
 Emotional
How to Correct Faulty Thinking
 Recognize
your faulty thought patterns
 Replace irrational ideas with more
accurate and realistic ideas
Anger Management
 You
can choose to control how you express
your anger (others won’t respect you if you
curse, yell, or use violence - and you are too
important to let situations control you)
 Speak calmly when disagreeing
 If you are about to lose control - count to
“10” slowly, breathe deeply, and walk away
if necessary
Anger Management (cont.)
 Set
limits on how long you choose to
be angry - then do something nice for
yourself
 When you disagree with someone,
stick to the present issue (and avoid
dredging up past hurts)
 Criticize someone’s behavior, not their
character
Assertiveness/Better
Communication
 Ask
for what you desire
 Refuse a “tasker” if you do not really want
to do it, or if you lack the time to do it well
 When you make a request, give a reason
 Be specific with your request (tell the
receiver exactly what you want done)
 Be a good listener - give your full attention,
show interest, and summarize what you
heard
Relaxation Techniques
 Slow
deep breathing
 Progressive muscle relaxation
 Guided imagery
Slow Deep Breathing
 Inhale
slowly through your mouth or nose
for 5 seconds, while allowing your stomach
to push out
 Without pausing, exhale slowly for 5
seconds, and tell yourself to relax
 Perform this techniques for at least 5
minutes whenever you feel stressed, angry,
anxious, overwhelmed, or unable to sleep
Progressive Muscle Relaxation
 Sit
in a comfortable chair or lie down
 Practice slow deep breathing for
several minutes
 Then, tighten and relax each major
muscle group in turn (you may choose
to relax each muscle group twice)
Guided Imagery
 Practice
slow deep breathing for
several minutes
 Then, practice progressive muscle
relaxation
 Finally, imagine yourself in a pleasant,
relaxing setting (example, the beach)
 Use all of your senses to observe your
surroundings
Any Questions?
Finis